The last post that I mentioned a milestone in our cancer journey was May 20th. That was a difficult day to move past because it was the 1 year anniversary of Joel's cancer diagnosis. It was a big date to look back on because our life changed so radically on that day. Today, however, is an even bigger milestone for us. June 14th 2010 was what I look back on as the best/worst day of our lives. It was the worst day because of all of the fear and nerves that we faced that day-Joel's surgery date. It was the best day because that was the day that the cancer was finally removed from Joel's body. Since they have never found evidence of cancer in his body since that day that now makes today-June 14th-Joel's 1 year of remission!! This is a huge deal. The more anniversaries of this day that we can have, and the farther down the line we can get the better. In a medical sense they do not consider you "cured" from cancer until you hit 5 years of remission with no cancer re-occurence. While we are aware that 4 years down the road is still a long way to go-we also know that you get there one healthy year at a time. We look back on that day in awe of what God did in our lives and are humbled by His continual faithfulness. He took a day of fear and sadness and has turned it into a day of rejoicing!
Isaiah 61:3 "He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair."

Thank you for your continued prayers this year over our life. And a special thanks to our prayer warriors in all 50 states and numerous countries around the world- who interceded for us in our greatest time of need. A simple thank you will never be enough.

Sarah Rodriguez Rhodes

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Ellis Update: Today was a hard morning, guys. We got to the hospital & things just felt all wrong. I don’t know how to explain it other than that. Then the anesthesiologist had issues with some secretions Ellis was having that we were told amplified her risk during the surgery while under anesthesia. Given the past things we’ve walked through, we just decided it wasn’t a risk we were at all willing to take. So we made the decision to go home, re-group & do the surgery another day. Since the surgery is elective we had our medical teams full support in this decision. We are home now & doing well. This wasn’t an easy decision to make. For months we’ve prepared mentally, emotionally, schedule-wise, financially etc for this day. But we have to be lead by peace. And if those giving her medical care also weren’t completely at peace, it just wasn’t the right time, for whatever reason. I don’t always understand the “why” but I won’t always & I’m ok with that. We appreciate your prayers & promise to keep you informed of when her surgery will be in the coming months. Also, the day wasn’t a complete loss...Ellis did get to hang with the cute hospital dog-so at least that part was a win ☺️ Looking for some kind of humor-it’s been a rough day.

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